There are a lot of misconceptions about plumbing systems in the Indianapolis, IN area. What you may think of as “common sense” when it comes to plumbing in your home might not be as sensible as you think. Unfortunately, these myths are also not harmless. They can lead to damage to your pipes or other parts of your plumbing system. Knowing what these myths are and what the truth is can prevent stress and save you money.
1. Professional Maintenance Isn’t Necessary
You may think that a plumber is someone that you call only when something goes wrong. However, this isn’t the case. Regular professional maintenance can help ensure that various components of your plumbing system continue working smoothly. For example, when we perform annual maintenance on your water heater, we can also identify any problems that exist before they become more serious. A yearly sump pump inspection helps ensure that your unit works as it should to prevent flooding and water damage.
Not all professional maintenance needs to be done on an annual basis. We can perform a camera inspection every couple of years to make sure that there are no obstructions in your sewer line. A common plumbing problem is tree roots growing into outdoor pipes. We can identify these issues and make repairs before your pipes collapse completely.
Regular maintenance can be particularly important in older homes. After all, your plumbing system may have experienced a lot of wear and tear over the years that was unaddressed. Some older components may need replacement due to normal wear and tear. Whatever the age of your home, regular professional maintenance can help prevent extensive and stressful plumbing emergencies.
2. You Can Use DIY Methods and Drain Cleaners for Clogs
It can be stressful when you flush the toilet or pull the plug out of a sink and the water doesn’t drain properly. Unfortunately, many of the remedies you may have heard about can do more harm than good.
One common recommendation involves common household items, such as baking soda and vinegar. While this can cause a fizzy reaction that looks as though it’s doing something, it won’t break apart serious blockages. The baking soda you’ve dumped down the sink may simply join the other substances that are blocking your pipes.
Store-bought drain cleaners can seem like a cheap and easy fix. However, these products can damage pipes, particularly older ones. In addition, drain cleaner can cause eye, skin, and airway irritation.
Finally, you may have read suggestions to dump boiling water down your sink, tub, or toilet to clear a blockage. When used for a toilet, this method can crack the base. In a sink or tub, it can damage pipes.
These remedies don’t lead to disaster 100% of the time. Hot water could clear some minor clogs without destroying your pipes. The problem is that you never really know whether they’re going to work or make a problem worse. If the water in your sink, shower, tub, or toilet isn’t going anywhere, the best remedy is to call an experienced plumber.
3. You Don’t Need a Plumber If Your Sink Drains
If your sink, tub, or shower is draining slowly, you might assume that things are okay. Having to wait a little longer for the water to drain may not appear to be an emergency. It probably doesn’t seem like you need to call a plumber for this type of inconvenience. Unfortunately, whatever is causing the slow drainage is much more likely to get worse over time than to clear up on its own.
It’s helpful if you understand what causes these blockages in the first place. There are a few common reasons why your drains are blocked. It might be because someone has dropped a foreign object down the drain. It could be because of gradual buildup over months or years of soap, grease, hair, food, and other debris that you wash down the drain. Finally, the blockage could be because of problems further down the line, such as tree root intrusion. A section of your pipes might even have collapsed. None of these issues are going to be solved with home remedies.
Slow drains are an early sign that there’s a problem. Also, listen to gurgling sounds or spot foul smells coming from your drains. When you call our team to address a problem sooner rather than later, it’s likely that the fix will be less disruptive and less expensive than if you wait.
4. Ice Cubes and Citrus Peels Benefit Your Garbage Disposal
You can find a lot of bad advice online. One myth is that putting ice cubes down your garbage disposal will help sharpen its blades. Unfortunately, your garbage disposal doesn’t have blades. Parts called lugs or impellers grind up the scraps you put down your sink. They don’t need to be sharpened over time. In fact, ice cubes have the potential to jam or break your garbage disposal.
Another common piece of advice is that you can put lemons or lemon peels down into your garbage disposal to make the drain smell better. The problem with this method of maintenance is that citrus peels can clog your unit and break it. Peels are not easy to pulverize. In general, you should not be putting any ice or large chunks of food into your garbage disposal. It’s only for small food scraps that are left on your dishes after you scrape them.
5. Flushable Wipes Are Flushable
A product may be marketed as being “flushable.” However, don’t necessarily believe the information that is on the package. Flushable wipes are one of the more common sources of clogs in sewer systems. It’s a better idea to throw them in the trash instead or use a product that breaks down once flushed.
In fact, it’s generally a good idea to avoid flushing anything down the toilet besides the things it’s meant to dispose of. This is a particularly important rule if you have a septic system, which maintains a careful balance of organisms that break down waste. However, you should not flush dental floss, cat litter, hair, cotton balls, or other foreign objects down your toilet. This applies whether you have a septic system or you’re using a municipal sewer system. The toilet in your residence should be for human waste and toilet paper only.
Your Trusted Indianapolis-Area Plumber
We have got 15 years of experience in the Indianapolis area, and we offer a wide variety of services. Some of our services include routine plumbing inspections and repair, septic tank services, sewer line repair, water treatment, sump pumps, and much more. We work on all types of plumbing systems, but we specialize in older homes. The many historic houses in the Indianapolis area offer some plumbing challenges, and we’re experienced with all of them. Whether your house was built last year or more than 100 years ago, we know how to keep your pipes, drains, and plumbing fixtures in the best condition. For all types of plumbing services in Indianapolis, contact Hope Plumbing, Heating and Cooling today.
